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Message: [QUOTE="ScottVib, post: 4882451, member: 694"] The network is irrelevant to my point, I'm not making a rating argument, I'm making a brand name argument. I'm a fan... I'm more inclined to look for a matchup involving teams I know to be good or whom the team I support will be playing. So yeah, to you or I, Marquette's the bigger draw THIS YEAR... but to casual folks looking for something to watch on a Saturday afternoon? Nope. Syracuse or Louisville is the name brand they've heard of and the more likely place they stop... unless they're sold by the #4 next to Marquette's name. Therein lies the problem for the Marquette's of the world... they're a draw if they have that #4; but they are not a reliable draw (and it will take a much longer run of sustained success for them to move into that category... how many years of winning did it take Gonzaga to be treated as something more than a mid-major, 15? 20?). In the Big East only UConn or Villanova have the name recognition to get people to stop without a ranking. None of what I said should be seen as a slight to the Big East. It's been good for the UConn, but the value of the Big East on the open market, is likely much smaller than Big East or even non-Big East college basketball fans would think it "should" be. [/QUOTE]